


Always

by Lleu (Gyffes)



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29569794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyffes/pseuds/Lleu
Summary: In a new world, in a new body, Link grasps at something constant to hold on to.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Always

Link thought he could deal with change.

" _Hey, look! You're all grown up!"_ Navi had said.

He had looked down and seen a strange, large pair of hands—his hands—clad in tough leather gauntlets. He had muttered some inconsequential question and heard the lowered tenor voice of an adult and not given it a second thought. Rauru and Sheik had told him of Ganondorf's rise to power, and of the Sages, and his slumber in the Temple of Light, and he had simply added it all to his list of things to do.

Then he stepped out into the ruins of Castle Town. The pungent stench of decay and rot infiltrated his nostrils and left him gagging. Smoke filled the air, blotting out the sun and stinging his eyes. He _tasted_ the rot as he fled the once great city, and the cries of the dead clamored behind him.

He escaped to Hyrule Field and kept running. He ran until his lungs burned and his new grown-up legs stopped working and he stood there gasping for breath and shaking.

When he recovered enough to get his bearings, he saw he stood by a low wall that someone had begun building across Hyrule Field, and then—apparently—stopped. He had sat atop it with Malon once, sharing a picnic. _Did adults still have picnics?_ he wondered. Would Malon remember him after seven years? Probably not. Hylians had short memories.

He sat down atop the wall. His feet reached all the way to the ground now, and the shallow seat forced his knees up above his waist. He sat there with his arms wrapped around his legs, thinking of nothing as his thoughts reordered themselves.

 _Saria_ _will always be your friend._

The idea floated up above the maelstrom, as pristine as ever a thought was. It had come to him once before when he had first left the forest seven years ago. Three months ago. A lifetime.

He pulled out the wooden ocarina she had given him. He raised it to his mouth, but his fingers were too large for the holes. They covered them entirely and crowded into the holes beside. He set it down and reached for the Ocarina of Time, one of the keys to the Door of Time. The polished metal instrument felt cold in his mouth. His fingers had to spread out to find the proper holes and they felt awkward around the larger instrument, but they fit well enough.

He played Saria's song. Though the instrument was different, his fingers remembered their old steps.

The notes echoed far, but nothing happened.

 _Saria will always be your friend_.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thank you to my friend "crutón" for showing me where this story ends.


End file.
